eliberately upon me. A strange thrill
ran through me; I still held his hand.

"'Rest!' he said in slow and emphatic tones, 'Weary and overwrought
frame, take thy full and needful measure of repose! Struggling and
deeply injured spirit, be free of thy narrow prison! By that Force
which I acknowledge within me and thee and in all created things, I
command thee, REST!'

"Fascinated, awed, overcome by his manner, I gazed at him and would
have spoken, but my tongue refused its office--my senses swam--my eyes
closed--my limbs gave way--I fell senseless."

Cellini again paused and looked at me. Intent on his words, I would not
interrupt him. He went on:

"When I say senseless, mademoiselle, I allude of course to my body. But
I, myself--that is, my soul--was conscious; I lived, I moved, I heard,
I saw. Of that experience I am forbidden to speak. When I returned to
mortal existence I found myself lying on a couch in the same room where
I had supped with Heliobas, and Heliobas himself sat near me reading.
It was broad noonday. A delicious sense of tranquillity and youthful
buoyancy was upon me, and without speaking I sprang up from my
recumbent position and touched him on the arm. He looked up.

"'Well?' he asked, and his eyes smiled.

"I seized his hand, and pressed it reverently to my lips.

"'My best friend!' I exclaimed. 'What wonders have I not seen--what
truths have I not learned--what mysteries!'

"'On all these things be silent,' replied Heliobas. 'They must not be
lightly spoken of. And of the questions you naturally desire to ask me,
you shall have the answers in due time. What has happened to you is not
wonderful; you have simply been acted upon by scientific means. But
your cure is not yet complete. A few days more passed with me will
restore you thoroughly. Will you consent to remain so long in my
company?'

"Gladly and gratefully I consented, and we spent the next ten days
together, during which Heliobas administered to me certain remedies,
external and internal, which had a marvellous effect in renovating and
invigorating my system. By the expiration of that time I was strong and
well--a sound and sane man, as my rescuer had promised I should be--my
brain was fresh and eager for work, and my mind was filled with new and
grand ideas of art. And I had gained through Heliobas two inestimable
things--a full comprehension of the truth of religion, and the secret
of human destiny; and I had won a LOVE so exqui